Improvement in apparatus for distilling oil from coal



G. I. VAN WYCK. APPARATUS PoR DISTILLING oI-L PROM GOAL.

No. 27.603. PatentedlVIar. 20, 1860'.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

C. I. VAN WYOK, O F NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSGNOR TO JOHN lWI.-MACAIULAY, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN APPAaAtus FOR DISTILLiNO on; FROM COAL.

Specilic'aton forming part of LettcrsPatent No. 27,603, dated March 20, 1560.

accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in whichw Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section of an apparatus constructed according` to my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of the same in the plane indicated by the line a: of Fig. l.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both figures.

Myinvention consists in a certain construction of an apparatus for distilling coal or other substances, "with provision for the simultaneous extraction or evolution and separation ot' oils or other products of two different qualities or specific gravities.

To enable others skilled in Vthe art to make and use my invention, Iwill proceed to describe ts construction and operation.

` A is a retort, which may be ofthe cylindrical form shown or of other form, set in a position slightly inclined fromv the horizontal, having its ends c l) of grate-like construction or perforated, and having a narrow grate, c, in its bottom, of the whole or nearly the whole length thereof. At thc lower end of this retort there is provided a lire-box, B, and from the higher end there descends an inclined taper trnnk,C, the lower end of which communicates with an upright hollow chimney-like shaft, D.

Under the grate c is a deep conductor, E,

of the whole width and depth ofthe said grate, said conductor having its bottom inclined in the opposite direction-to the inclination of the retort, and having at its lower end a pipe, d, which is intended to dip into a receiver and condenser7 which before the commencement of the operation of the apparatus should contain suiiieient water to seal the said pipe.

At or near the lower end of the trunk C and below the upright shaft D there is a descending vertical pipe7 e, which is intended to dip into a receiver and condenser, which before the commencement of the operation of the ap paratus should contain suflicient water to seal the mouth of the said pipe. The upright shaft D is surrounded externally and internally by a coiled pipe, f, which enters Ait near the bottom, and, after lforming numerous coils around the interior, leaves it at the top, and is coiled around its exterior nearly as far as its bottom, from whence it is continued in a coiled forni around the trunk O. The portion of this pipe that is outside of the shaft D and trunk C has numerous small perforations; but the portion within the shaft is not perforated. The fire-box B is furnished with a door, g, for the introduction of fuel, and the ash-pit F below the fire-grate h, of the said fire-box is furnished wit-h a suitable opening, i, for t-he ad'- mission of air in sufficient quantity to'support combustion. The retort A is furnished with 'one or more manholes, j, for the introduction of Jthe coal or other substance to be distilled and the taking out of the residuum, and for such other purposes as they may be desirable. The retort A having been charged with the coal or other substance to be distilled and its man-holes closed, and fire having been made in the fire-box B with anthracite coal or other fuel that emits little or no smoke or vapor, cold water is admitted freely through the pipe f, and the operation is as follows: 'lhe heated gaseous products of combustion and all the heat escaping from the tire-box B passthrough the grate a into and through the retortA and heat the charge therein, and the spent gases escape by the trunk C and shaftD. rlhelighter vapors evolved from the charge by the heat escape to the trunk C andshaft D, in both of which condensation is prodncedby the cooling effect of the water circulating through the pipe f and oozing fromthe perforated portions thereof and flowing over the exterior of the said trunk and shaft, so that none of the pipe d, which conveys them into the cooling receiver and condenser provided to receive them, to be afterward subjected to redistillation, purification, or such further treatment as may be necessary. By thus providing; for the escape ofthe heavier products the lighter ones are permitted to be evolved very freely, and a Charce is enabled to beworked oft' in much less time than in any other apparatus.

The retort A, trunk G, shaftv D, and conductor E maybe made of iron, hre-clay, brick, or such other materials as may be found in practice most suitable. The retort, instead of being heated internally, as described, may be heated bv 1ire applied to its exterior.

What I claim as my invention, and desire. to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The construction of a retort with a grate, c, in the bottom, and an inclined conductor', E, below such grate, as described, such conductor not being the out-let for the gaseous products of combustion of the lire by which the retort. is heated.

C. I. VAN WYCK.

Witnesses:

' B.GR10UR,

M. M. LrviNcs'roN. 

